村 落(そんらく)

そんらく

noun

village; hamlet; rural settlement

1. village; hamlet; rural settlement

A small rural community or settlement, typically with a close-knit population engaged in agriculture. More formal and academic than 村(むら).

山間(さんかん)の小(ちい)さな村落(そんらく)。

A small village nestled in the mountains.

この村落(そんらく)は江戸時代(えどじだい)から続(つづ)いている。

This village has existed since the Edo period.

過疎化(かそか)が進(すす)み、消滅(しょうめつ)の危機(きき)にある村落(そんらく)が増(ふ)えている。

The number of villages at risk of disappearing due to depopulation is increasing.

A formal, slightly literary or academic word for a village or rural settlement. Composed of 村(そん) (village) + 落(らく) (settlement, cluster). More commonly encountered in written Japanese, academic texts, and news reports than in casual conversation.

Common collocations

農村(のうそん)村落(そんらく): farming village
山間(さんかん)の村落(そんらく): mountain village
村落(そんらく)共同体(きょうどうたい): village community
村落(そんらく)社会(しゃかい): village society
限界(げんかい)村落(そんらく): marginal village (at risk of disappearance)

Similar words

村(むら): village — the everyday word; can also refer to an administrative unit. 村落(そんらく) is more formal and refers specifically to a physical settlement.
集落(しゅうらく): settlement; community — similar formality level; focuses on any grouping of residences, urban or rural. 村落(そんらく) specifically implies a rural village.
部落(ぶらく): hamlet; settlement — historically neutral but now sensitive due to its association with the buraku discrimination issue. 村落(そんらく) carries no such connotation.

Related Words

Compare: 集落(しゅうらく) (settlement)

general

Added 2026.5.7 20:17 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:02

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